usa travel adapter

amit_1

will a europe adaptor be good for the usa or does it take a different type? i need to no cos i need to charge my laptop & mobile phone.

coolagarry

US and Canadian power outlets are of a totally different physical design to mains sockets in the UK or Europe, so as well as taking care of voltage difference considerations you will also need an adapter for an electric razor or any other device.

In Britain, all but the most ancient of domestic mains sockets have three square holes for the live, neutral and earth connectors. All but the most ancient of appliance cables have plugs with three square prongs to match. Plugs always have all three prongs, although very occasionally on very low current devices the earth prong is a non-conductive dummy. The hole and prong for earth (ground) is larger and longer than the other two and the plug can only be inserted in one orientation. In modern sockets, as the plug is inserted the earth pin automatically operates a simple mechanism which opens slots inside the socket which normally cover the live and neutral. Normally the neutral is at zero volts (or very close to it), although I have heard a theory (very much unconfirmed) that for safety reasons some British schools are wired with the live and neutral each at 120V with opposite polarity.

Mainland Europe uses a different design with (I think) round connectors. Sockets for electric razors use this design (with only two connectors) both in mainland Europe and in Britain, and in some cases the voltage on the socket can be switched between 240v and 110v.

In the USA and Canada the live and neutral sockets in power outlets are thin, straight slots, normally parallel to each other. The earth socket is round and placed so that the three sockets form a triangle. Some mains outlets have a more complicated design where one of the straight slots has a "T" shape, allowing it to take plugs with straight prongs which are parallel or at 90 degrees to each other. I suspect that the 90 degree prong arrangement is for very heavy current appliances such as electric cookers and air conditioners, which presumably should only be plugged into special outlets capable of carrying that extra current.

In the USA and Canada many plugs for low current appliances such as lights only have the two straight live and neutral connectors and therefore can be plugged into the socket with either orientation. This is potentially highly dangerous since the switch on the appliance could then be located on the neutral side of the appliance, leaving the appliance live even when switched off. The plugs on higher current appliances have all three conductors and therefore can only be inserted in one orientation. The live and neutral sockets are not guarded by sliding covers as they are in modern British main sockets.

The European standard sockets for electric razors, with two round holes, are not found in the USA or Canada and a normal mains socket must be used instead. In older buildings a suitable socket for an electric razor can sometimes be found on the rim of a bathroom light fitting. In more modern buildings there is usually a suitable placed wall socket, often with an earth trip switch. Check the voltage on your razor and don't forget to switch it back after returning from holiday.

(Above taken from http://freespace.virgin.net/john.cletheroe/usa_can/cult/compat.htm)

Even with an american adaptor uk electrical goods don't work very well in the US. If at all possible I would advise buying the item in the us and use it there... i.e. travel kettles etc otherwise they take forever to warm up!!

cheekymole

some hairdryers etc come with dual voltage for this purpose

amit_1

i need to charge my laptop so can i buy a adapter in us that will covert a uk plug to a us one?

cheekymole

you can buy an adapter in the uk before you go but bear in mind that it will charge your laptop a lot slower in the US than here at home

cheekymole

http://www.boots.com/shop/product_details.jsp?productid=1042803&classificationid=1038880&slmRefer=000

but you will probably find it cheaper elsewhere

cundall

http://search.ebay.co.uk/travel-adapter_W0QQfromZR8QQfrtsZ50QQfsooZ1QQfsopZ3QQsascsZ2QQsbrbinZtQQsbrsrtZd

3.50 all i though if you try the pound shops or discount shops my sis bought a set of 2 (one for europe and one for states that also works in oz, nz ect) for 2 pounds but that was in york.

wendytiggermad

I purchased an adapter whilst in Florida last year, my batteries for my camera NEVER fully charged VERY slow, so dont hold out too much hope for a laptop. Sorry :wall:

Janice

You could get a step up transformer - something like

http://www.euronetwork.co.uk/acatalog/Step_Up_Transformers.html

We have one and it's come in very handy, as we've been to USA 3 times.

cundall

wendytiggermad wrote:

I purchased an adapter whilst in Florida last year, my batteries for my camera NEVER fully charged VERY slow, so dont hold out too much hope for a laptop. Sorry :wall:

It all depends if they auto switch or not as i took my laptop to vegas only about 2 weeks ago and had no issues.

gh38

wendytiggermad wrote:

I purchased an adapter whilst in Florida last year, my batteries for my camera NEVER fully charged VERY slow, so dont hold out too much hope for a laptop. Sorry :wall:

Is your charger dual voltage? I'm taking my laptop to the US in April and I assumed it would be fine because it's dual voltage. Does anyone know if there would be a problem with 'slowness' even then?